Liverpool head to Girona in Spain on Tuesday hoping to remain perfect and top of the UEFA Champions League league phase table.
MORE —Champions League schedule |Latest Champions League table
Arne Slot’s side have won five from five so far and beat Real Madrid 2-0 at home last time out in the Champions League to underline their status as tournament favorites. Slot’s team are also rested after the Merseyside derby at Everton on Saturday was called off due to Storm Darragh. Liverpool know a win in this game could see them secure their spot in the last 16 of the Champions League as one of the top eight teams with two games of the league phase to go. It will be intriguing to see if Slot rests a few of his key starters for this game ahead of Liverpool’s trip to Fulham on Saturday. Mohamed Salah has been in incredible form in recent weeks and is looking unstoppable.
Girona are in a very different predicament but the Spanish minnows continue to punch above their weight in their first-ever season in European competition. Girona are part of the City Football Group and have been very consistent in La Liga over the last few seasons, finishing third last season to qualify for the Champions League. They’ve hung in games and lost late on at PSG as they have three points from their five games so far. They still have a chance of reaching the playoff round, while they also have plenty of players you’ll be familiar with as Oriol Romeu, Paulo Gazzaniga, Daley Blind, Arnaut Danjuma, Donny van de Beek and Bryan Gil are all key players. Girona lost 3-0 at home to Real Madrid at the weekend but are in the race to finish in the top six of La Liga this season.
How to watch Girona vs Liverpool live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 12:45pm ET Tuesday (December 10)
Venue: Estadi Montilivi — Girona, Spain
How to watch: Stream on Paramount+ and TUDN USA
Girona team news, focus
Ukrainian winger Viktor Tsygankov is missing for Girona, and that is a big blow as he’s a key player in attack for the Spaniards. Elsewhere you can expect Girona to play plenty of their experienced heads with Romeu, Blind and Van de Beek all likely to start. It will be quite the evening in Girona, as the visit of mighty Liverpool will be seen as a celebration of how far they’ve come over the last few years.
Liverpool team news, focus
Slot does have some injury issues to deal with so having the weekend off was probably a good thing. Konate, Bradley and Tsimikas remain out so a back four of Alexander-Arnold, Quansah, Van Dijk and Robertson will probably start. Slot has plenty of options in midfield and can mix things up, while Chiesa and Jota could return soon which would give some of the forward players a bit of a break ahead of the busy festive period.
OUT: Kostas Tsimikas (foot), Alisson Becker (thigh), Ibrahima Konate (knee), Conor Bradley (hamstring) | QUESTIONABLE: Federico Chiesa (other), Diogo Jota (chest)
Girona vs Liverpool prediction
This should be a routine win for Liverpool but we’ve seen them struggle defensively in recent away games. Girona have nothing to lose and you’d expect them to grab a goal. Girona 1-3 Liverpool.